against
Listen:Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
against /əˈgɛnst, əˈgeɪnst/
▶preposition
- 1 in opposition to.
■ in resistance to.
- 2 in anticipation of and preparation for (a difficulty).
■ (in betting) in anticipation of the failure of: the odds were 5–1 against England.
- 3 in relation to (money owed, due, or lent) so as to reduce, cancel, or secure it.
- 4 in or into contact with.
- 5 in contrast to.
– phrases
have something against dislike or bear a grudge against.
have something against dislike or bear a grudge against.
– origin ME: from again + -s (adverbial genitive) + -t, prob. by assoc. with superlatives (as in amongst).
'against' also found in these Oxford entries:
A
- aback
- ace
- adpressed
- adverse
- agin
- air bridge
- akrasia
- alluvium
- amnesty
- amulet
- angelica
- animadvert
- answer
- antagonize
- Antarctic
- anthelmintic
- anti
- anti-
- antibacterial
- antidote
- antilogy
- antimicrobial
- antinomian
- antinomy
- Antipodes
- anti-Semitism
- antiserum
- antistrophe
- antithesis
- antivenin
- antiviral
- antonym
- appellant
- appellate
- assured
- attack
- autoimmune
- back
- bad form
- battering ram
- bazooka
- beam sea
- bear
- bear
- benchmark
- bet
- bias
- biosecurity
